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March 5, 2015 (6:00AM)

NYU Langone Medical Center has announced the creation of a new multidisciplinary Venous Thromboembolic Center (VTEC) to treat those with life-threating blood clots. The new VTEC delivers advanced detection, comprehensive care and effective management for patients experiencing a venous thromboembolic event.

“The creation of our new Center truly demonstrates NYU Langone’s leadership in the field of venous disease,” said Thomas Maldonado, MD, the newly appointed Medical Director of VTEC. “As one of the few centers in the nation to focus solely on venous thromboembolism, we’ve been able to bring together an experienced team of clinicians and scientists to work together to provide the highest level of patient care and to pioneer a standard of care for the diagnosis and treatment of DVT and pulmonary embolism.”

Venous thromboembolism, or VTE, is extremely prevalent, occurring in about 600,000 Americans annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are two main types of VTE: deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Deep vein thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in the deep veins of the legs, pelvis, or arms. Pulmonary embolisms occur when these blood clots travel toward the heart and block blood flow in the lungs. Both conditions can occur suddenly, without warning, and can be fatal in nearly one third of patients. In fact, VTE result in over 100,000 deaths each year- more than breast cancer, traffic accidents, and AIDS combined.

Risk factors for DVT include long periods of sitting, trauma or surgery, smoking, obesity, taking birth control pills and a family history of blood clots. Currently, the most common treatment for DVT is a blood thinner medication though other interventions may be needed.

VTEC comprises a multidisciplinary team of physicians, surgeons, researchers and other medical staff who specialize in DVT and PE, and is a collaboration of more than 20 specialties including hematology, vascular surgery, cardiology, radiology, emergency medicine and more. This collaboration resulted in unique evidence-based protocols for treating all types of patients who experience a DVT or PE.

In addition, NYU Langone’s world-class scientists and researchers are collaborating to conduct a large clinical study with the goal of increasing understanding of the risk factors for blood clots, and improving prevention and treatment.

“Our goal is to develop a genetic ‘handprint’ for blood clots in the form of a blood test that can warn us which patients may develop different kind of blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolisms, so we can offer the best preventive treatments to keep these events from occurring,” said Jeffrey Berger, MD, a leading researcher at VTEC.

He notes, “We’re proud that we’ve already been able to create standardized, evidenced-based guidelines for screening, preventing, diagnosing, and managing blood clots that are used throughout NYU Langone. We are able to track virtually every patient found to have a blood clot while being treated here, enabling an expert from VTEC to quickly and seamlessly treat patients.”

VTEC is also at the forefront of providing education to the larger medical community, creating the nation’s first fellowship program dedicated solely to venous thromboembolic disease.

VTEC was established with a gift from Medical Center Trustee Bernard Schwartz and his late wife Irene.

For more information, please visit the VTEC Center or call 1-844-NYU-VTEC.